Days after Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu’s “warm hug”, Pakistani Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa said that Pakistan will “avenge the blood of its soldiers being shed at the border”.

In his speech at a ceremony to commemorate Pakistan’s 53rd Defence Day, the Pakistani Army chief said that he “salutes the sacrifice of the brothers and sisters of Kashmir”.

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“I salute the people of Kashmir who have stood firm and are fighting bravely,” General Bajwa said at the function organised at the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi.

This is the first time that the Pakistani Army chief has raked the Kashmir issue after Imran Khan took oath as the Prime Minister of Pakistan.

At the ceremony, which was also attended by Imran Khan, General Bajwa reportedly said, “In the fight for freedom, we are with Kashmir. We salute the sacrifice of the brothers and sisters of Kashmir. We will avenge blood on the outskirts.”

Imran Khan, too, accused India of “cruelty” in the Valley.

“The resolution of Kashmir issue according to the United Nations resolutions was indispensable,” Imran Khan was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

Reacting to General Bajwa’s comment, Sidhu, a minister in the Punjab government, said that the only way forward is talks and peace.

“No comments. The only way forward is talks. The only way forward is peace,” Sidhu said on Friday while repeatedly saying that he offers no comments on the Pakistani Army chief’s remarks.

Sidhu had in August this year visited Pakistan to on the invitation of Imran Khan to attend the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI). At the ceremony, Sidhu had hugged Guneral Bajwa triggering a wave of controversy and protests in India.

Even Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh had publicly censured Sidhu’s act of embracing General Bajwa reminding the cricketer-turned-politician that the man he hugged is responsible for the killing of Indian soldiers at the border.

“Everyday our jawans are getting martyred. To hug their Chief General Bajwa…I am against this. The fact is that the man (Sidhu) should understand that our soldiers are being killed every day,” the 76-year-old Punjab Chief Minister said.

Read More: Punjab CM Amarinder Singh censures Sidhu for embracing Pak Army chief

An unapologetic Sidhu had upon his return defended his gesture.

“If someone (Pak Army Chief General Bajwa) comes to me and says that we belong to the same culture and we’ll open Kartarpur border on Guru Nanak Dev’s 550th Prakash Parv, what else I could do?” he was quoted as saying by ANI.

Reacting to Amarinder Singh’s remarks, Sidhu said he has “great respect for his leader”, and added, “I am not hurt. Everyone has a point of view.”

To justify ‘the hug’, Sidhu also drew parallels with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Pakistan and embracing then PM Nawaz Sharif and former PM late Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s journey to Lahore in a bus.